Village Kitchen - Angola

The Kitchen has been smoke-free since May 3. In December 2009, the old nicotine-stained ceiling was replaced, and the light fixtures were cleaned, making the light bulbs actually visible now. We went for lunch on a Sunday afternoon around 1:30 PM and had the same waitress as our previous visit on a smoky day. She hurried us to place our order since the restaurant was set to close at 2:00 PM. After serving our coffee, she promptly turned the sign in the window to "Closed." Another waitress came over to refill our coffee, and we requested to have our remaining food packed to go. It was obvious that the first waitress was eager for us to leave given the approaching closing time. After finishing our meal, we went to pay at the register, where we noticed two waitresses smoking behind the counter and a third one washing windows—it was 2:05 PM. While the food was just mediocre, we may consider giving the restaurant another chance since it is smoke-free now, perhaps for breakfast, and hopefully we’ll have a more friendly waitress next time.

I'm not sure what Dorris is referring to, as everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I visit the Village Kitchen often, and I find the ceilings to be perfectly white. The service is excellent; my waitress brings my beverage—coffee, in my case—almost immediately after I sit down. Out of curiosity, I timed how often they refill my coffee, and it's approximately every 5 to 8 minutes. When the waitress brought my coffee, she kindly asked if I needed a few minutes to decide, which I did. She came back in about 10 minutes. On a typical day, there are usually only about four people smoking at the same time, and there is no smoking at all on Sundays. Overall, I'm very satisfied with their service.

We should have known better the moment we entered the Village Kitchen Restaurant in Angola, Indiana, for breakfast today. The place was filled with smokers, and the ceiling had a yellowish tint from nicotine. Our waitress took our coffee order, which took 10 minutes to arrive, and then it was another 20 minutes before she returned to take our breakfast order. She never came back to check if everything was fine or if we wanted more coffee. The smoke was overpowering, and the food left much to be desired. Is there really no law mandating a separation between smoking and non-smoking areas in restaurants? In Mission, Texas, most eateries are completely smoke-free.

What a change, all for the better, no smoking, ceiling painted white, a new smiling waitress, better service, food tasty, even the owner stopped by to check.